Electronic Madness

25 June 2018,
recall PRA #2018/16841
Automobili Lamborghini SpA - Aventador Coupe and Roadster.
"The engine in affected vehicles may stall without warning
under certain driving conditions ... arrange for an appointment
with an authorised Lamborghini dealer for an engine software update."

25 June 2018,
recall PRA #2018/16849
FCA Australia Pty Ltd - 2014-2018 (KL) Jeep Cherokee.
"Computer software for the Power Control Module (PCM) is faulty.
In certain circumstances this may affect cruise control and
the possible locking of speed or cause acceleration of the vehicle."

5 June 2018,
recall PRA #2018/16806
BMW F90 M5 sedan, CPA 48330.
"Faulty software may cause the fuel pump to
stop working while the car is in motion."

19 March 2018:
A woman pedestrian, crossing the street in Tempe Arizona,
was hit and killed by a Uber autonomous car
(with a human monitor on board).

6 December 2017
recall PRA 2017/16442
"Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars "C" Class 63s ...
Torque peaks may arise in the drivetrain in the vehicle under
pulling-away manoeuvres on a wet road. This may lead to failure
of the drive shaft. ... Consumers should contact their nearest
[MB] Retailer for an update to the software of the ESP
control units and, if necessary, the suspension control unit."

1 June 2017
recall PRA 2017/16076:
"Mercedes-Benz "SLK" Class Passenger Car ...
The Electronic Stability Program (ESP) software does not correspond
to specifications. In rare cases this may cause the brakes to remain
slightly engaged after an automatic brake intervention by a driver
assistance system (e.g.. cruise control) which would lead to
continuous vehicle deceleration. ...
The braking system may overheat[!] ..."

31 May 2017, recall PRA 2017/16078:
"... 14-14.5MY ZJ [Mitsubishi] Outlander PHEV ...
Due to improper engine software,
EV software and spark plug specification,
the petrol engine may shut down unexpectedly. This will limit the vehicle
to EV drive mode only, with no electric charge by the engine. ...".

7 February 2017,
recall PRA 2017/15890:
"[VW] MY2016 & MY2017 Golf Wagon and Passat. ...
A software error may cause an inoperative dipped beam,
main beam, daytime running light, rear fog light or indicator bulb to
not be indicated to the driver. Operative bulbs may also be shown
to be inoperative. This may present a hazard to the occupants of
the vehicle or other road users,
especially in low light conditions or at night. ..."
-- .gov.au

30 October 2016,
.au, recall PRA 2016/15710:
Ford Mondeo vehicles built from October 16, 2014 through December 22, 2015.
"... due to a software error within the Headlight Control Module (HCM),
vehicles fitted with Adaptive LED Headlamps could experience a condition
that causes the headlamps to switch off. ..."
[which would not be good]
"... pull over [and] cycle their ignition off and on again.
This will allow the headlamps to be turned on again. ..." !

10-12 August 2016:
"... we show that the security of the keyless entry systems of most
VW Group vehicles manufactured between 1995 and
today relies on a few, global master keys. We show that by recovering
the cryptographic algorithms and keys from electronic control units,
an adversary is able to clone a VW Group remote control and
gain unauthorized access to [i.e., rob/steal] a vehicle by eavesdropping
a single signal sent by the original remote. ..." --
F. D. Garcia et al,
'Lock It and Still Lose It - On the (In)Security of
Automotive Remote Keyless Entry Systems,'
25th USENIX Security Symposium 2016
[www].

7 June 2016:
Security researchers called on Mitsubishi "to recall at
least 100,000 Outlander hybrid cars after exposing a security breach
that allowed the hackers to remotely turn off the car's alarm system,
control the lights and drain the battery. ..." -- The G.

21 February 2016:
Volvo was to recall 59,000 cars over faulty software that can
briefly shut down the engine. ...
The recall affected five-cylinder diesel models
S60, V60, XC60, V70 and XC70 built from mid-2015.

13 November 2015:
Toyota Lexus
"ES350 & ES300h vehicles equipped with Pre-Collision System
(PCS), there is a possibility that the system could interpret a
steel expansion joint or plate that crosses the road surface as an object.
If this occurs, the system may sound the warning buzzer and
may automatically apply the brakes."(!)
-- Recall 2015/15039.

2 October 2015:
A motoring journalist
road testing the new Volvo XC90 SUV reported that it
"alarmingly activated the brakes on a number of occasions
while passing a car parked on the side of the road."

11 August 2015:
Researchers from UCSD showed how to SMS an OBD2 "dongle"
(as fitted by insurance firms and fleets to monitor vehicles)
to wirelessly enable and disable the brakes of a Corvette.

22 July 2015:
In a demonstration,
"... hackers took control of a Jeep over the internet and disabled
the engine and brakes and crashed it into a ditch. A security hole
in [Fiat Chrysler Auto's] Uconnect internet-enabled software allows
hackers to remotely access the car's systems and take control. ..."
-- The G.

3 October 2014:
Recall PRA 2014/14356, Mazda 6 (GJ1031) 2.5 petrol,
"Due to a programming error, the Powertrain Control Module (PCM) may
fail to provide an adequate supply of electric power to the fuel pump
following i-Stop operation.
This may cause the fuel pump to stop operating ..."

8 July 2013:
Recall PRA 2013/13658, Mitsubishi 13MY 'Outlander', including
"Adaptive Cruise Control ... Forward Collision Mitigation" and
"the Electronic Power Steering computer may fail" and
"when driving in a tunnel with
the Adaptive Cruise Control 'On', the system may
judge the wall of the tunnel as an approaching vehicle
and automatically operate the brakes".
That could be inconvenient.

12 June 2013,
.au PRA 2013/13626: Volkswagens with the
"... 7 speed direct shift gearbox (DSG)
are being recalled due to possible electrolysis in the
gearbox control unit that can lead to a short circuit and
blow the gearbox fuse ...".
(Causing the car to slow -- very dangerous on a freeway.)

2012: Had a Maxda CX-9 hire car with an automatic gearbox
having a pseudo-manual option.
Touching the brakes on a descent, the box would helpfully change
to lower gears to hold the speed --
but only down to the 5th(?) of seven ratios.
Beyond that the driver had to use the manual option to get
the next lowest ratio.
If the speed dropped even further, the box would then automatically select
lower gears, right down to 1st, but it then would not change back up.
This is potentially dangerous when
descending a very long steep hill to a stop-sign at the bottom:
The car is now locked in 1st, which the driver (did not command and) may well
forget when pulling out into the main road, and will not change up into 2nd.

2007: Hired a Peugeot 208 with an "intelligent" automatic gearbox
that tried to anticipate what gear would be needed on the basis of what
had just happened.
Unfortunately its guesses were almost always wrong.
This is much worse than a "dumb" gearbox that just follows orders.